The War of the Babies

Genesis 30: 1-24

Yesterday we learned that Jacob got what he deserved. Jacob the deceiver was deceived. His wife was switched on the night of his wedding with her sister. Laban had Jacob work another 7 years for the wife that he really wanted, Rachel. Now in this chapter we see Rachel getting jealous of the other woman, Leah, who is having plenty of children but Rachel had none. Rachel decided that she would have a child through her servant, Bilhah. This sounds somewhat familiar. Remember Sarah, Abraham’s wife, she was impatient of God’s plan for children and she wanted a child so bad she had Abraham have a child through her servant in chapter 16. Jacob and the servant, Bilhah did not only have one child but multiple, whom they named Dan and Naphtali. Now Leah, Jacob’s first wife was jealous of Rachel’s servant having kids so she did the same thing with her servant, Zilpah. She had two sons, Gad and Asher. Man talk about wife wars, they were wanting the woman with the most children would win, Jacob’s heart. Leah gave birth to two other sons named Isaachar and Zebulm and she also gave birth to a daughter named Dinah. Finally Rachel who did not have any children was able to give birth to a son named Joseph, whom will be popular in our further study of Genesis. 

 Jacob is prosperous- vs 25-43

Jacob had Joseph who is his favorite son, and wanted to be done working for Laban and get out of there. Laban though realized that Jacob was good for business and he was not going to let his cash cow go. Jacob was also a wise breeder when it came to sheep. He knew how to keep having strong and good looking sheep while Laban’s sheep were not so good and strong.  

Question:

Why are the men who God used having multiple wives,  doesn’t the Bible go against that? This question has been asked to me several times because 1st Timothy 3:2,12 and Titus 1:6 speak against it and tell us that men are to have one wife. God never wanted it to happen because that goes against what he commands, but God allowed it to happen. He did not strike them down dead right then and there just like God does not do that to us when we sin. More important as we see that culturally the other world did this and Abraham and Jacob fell into the temptation that their wives wanted children. Either way, all the people involved, the husband and the other women are in sin and they were not obedient to God’s plan. They rushed his plan by taking action themselves. This is just one aspect of human sin when we are disobedient to God. It was never ok by God and it still is not ok by God.  God has a plan for Jacob as he is the father of 12 sons who will be the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. It is exciting to see this plan unfold through the pages of Scripture